From the Bottom Up: How Small Power Producers and Mini-Grids Can Deliver Electrification and Renewable Energy in Africa

The guide highlights the ground-level regulatory and policy questions that must be answered by electricity regulators, rural energy agencies, and ministries to promote commercially sustainable investments by private operators and community organizations. Among the practical questions addressed is how to design and implement retail tariffs, quality of service standards, feed-in tariffs, and backup tariffs. The guide also analyzes the regulatory implementation issues triggered by donor grants and so-called top-up payments.

Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers

The report is the most comprehensive study on mini grids to date. It takes stock of the global mini grid market and industry; analyzes in detail the solar-hybrid mini grid costs and technological innovations; shows the importance of introducing income-generating machinery and micro-finance early in the planning process; and provides policy makers, investors and developers with insights on how mini grids can be scaled up.

ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy

This policy on renewable energy aims at ensuring increased use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, small-scale hydro and bioenergy for grid electricity supply and for the provision of access to energy services in rural areas. The ECOWAS region has set a clear target to increase the share of renewable energy in the region’s overall electricity mix to 10% in 2020 and 19% in 2030. Including large hydro, the share would reach 35% in 2020 and 48% in 2030. Around 25% of the rural ECOWAS population will be served by mini-grids and stand-alone systems by 2030.

Climate-resilient PPP: where are we?

There are several instruments and tools already used to address climate change risk in Indonesian PPP projects. In toll road projects, the PPP procurement team has been requiring bidders to consider ways to anticipate floods and to adopt the 'zero delta Q' principle (so that no water discharge increased because of new projects). In a broad sense, the Government is developing policies to achieve its commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. We have spatial planning policies to assess investments that correspond to a specific area. We also have green building technical standards where mitigation of climate change and disaster risks is included among the principles of green building. However, there is not yet a specific integrated instrument/tool for developing climate-resilient infrastructure projects. This issue is likely to become even more critical, given the current administration's focus on the new capital city; we would hope that climate-resilience plays a significant part in the design and construction of the city's infrastructure.

Cleaning up Thilafushi: Making the Maldives Carbon Neutral

Waste PPPs are gaining traction in developing countries, and the recent implementation of a waste PPP in the Maldives illustrates how far a country can come in its relationship with rubbish. Since the 2008 election, the country has been in the midst of a rapid social, political, and economic transformation. Officials and administrators aim to combat the developmental challenges of climate change, poverty reduction, private sector development, and economic restructuring, so urban infrastructure tops the priority list.